Mayuri, who is trained in classical Indian Bharatanatyam dance, is Artistic Director of ATMA Dance and has created two new works for the Linbury: Ex nihilo, performed by seven ATMA dancers; and The Human Edge, performed by Royal Ballet First Soloist Yuhui Choe and Soloist Kenta Kura.

We caught up with Mayuri at the start of rehearsals to find out more:

What has inspired your forthcoming works?

Ex nihilo is inspired by the ‘Hymn of Creation’ – one of the oldest in a collection of sacred hymns in the ancient Rigveda. It considers moments long before the Big Bang and the creation of matter. The poetry of the hymn is marvellous and I was attracted to its abstract imagery and mysticism. The dance is an expression of some of the ideas contemplated by the Vedic sages.

The Human Edge takes its cue from the Hindu story of Sati, the first goddess who appeared at the mythological moment of creation as embodied energy. The choreography draws on the drama of Sati’s life, and her self-annihilation, a metaphor for the life cycle of stars.

Bharatanatyam informs much of your choreography. Can you describe the style?

Bharatanatyam originated in the state of Tamil Nadu and is the oldest Indian classical dance style that evolved in the sacred environment of the temples of South India. It uses the body as a form of expressive geometry, like triangles flowing in three dimensions. It has a codified movement language, and a rich and extensive vocabulary - 28 single hand gestures, 24 double hand gestures, 4 neck movements, 8 movements of the eyes, and so on. It can be physically distinguished from other Indian classical dance forms by its specific deep bend of the knee, which pushes out to the sides; it is similar to a ballet plié but more geometrical, and is sustained during some movements of the dance.

What other styles of dance influence you?

I am influenced by both ballet and contemporary dance; both have helped open up my own style and given me tools and ideas to work with. Last year I saw Marianela Nuñez and Thiago Soares in Onegin and Edward Watson in The Metamorphosis, and I found the physicality of their performances breathtaking. However, I always go back to classical Bharatanatyam when I want to know how to express an idea. It is my touchstone.

The music you're using for the two new works isn't what you might expect Bharatanatyam to be performed to. Can you perform Bharatanatyam to non-traditional music?

Yes. Bharatanatyam is a living, evolving dance form and anything is possible depending on the choreographer’s imagination. For Ex nihilo I am using an installation of sound recordings by Bill Fontana. They range from recordings that have captured sounds such as the birth of particles from inside the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, where scientists reproduce and measure the conditions that existed a billionth of a second after the Big Bang, to recordings from the desert in Abu Dhabi, and an old woman from New York reciting her own take on The Book of Genesis.

In contrast, the music for The Human Edge is composed by MIDIval Punditz, long-term collaborators of mine who specialize in synthesizing classical Indian instruments with electronica. Their music aims to brings emotion to the concluding part of the programme and a harmonizing influence after the abstraction of Ex nihilo.

Royal Ballet dancers are highly disciplined and have an extraordinary physical ability that I can use to push the movement material I give them. It is very interesting to see how the physicality of non-Bharatanatyam trained dancers can help power the language in a different way. I think they have found the dance form a little alien, but it is amazing to see how they transform the movement into something completely new.

Yuhui and Kenta are consummate classical artists and it's exciting to be working with some of the best dancers in the world.

Royal Ballet Choreographic Affiliate Mayuri Boonham will present a new short work at Deloitte Ignite this weekend. The piece is influenced by Verdi’s opera Otello and Hindu epic the Ramayana, one of the great works of ancient literature. The work, entitled Forsaken, will be performed alongside a selection of free pop-up performances inspired by Verdi and Wagner that are taking place in the Paul Hamlyn Hall during the opening weekend of the festival.

Mayuri, who is classically trained in Indian Bharatanatyam dancing, says: ‘There are some fascinating parallels between the Shakespeare on which Otello is based and the Ramayana. The creative process is about finding synergies between two very different classical forms – it’s so different that every artist has been way out of their creative comfort zone!’

The work is set to arrangements of three extracts from Verdi’s opera(‘Credo in un dio crudel’, ‘Era la notte, Cassio dormia’,and ‘Ave Maria’), and will feature a veena (a traditional Indian string instrument), played by two Indian classical musicians, Hari Sivanesan and Deepi Sivasanthiran.

This April, Royal Ballet dancers have the opportunity to showcase their choreographic skills by presenting new, developmental works as part of Draft Works.

The annual performances, staged since 2007, provide a platform for experimental choreography created around The Royal Ballet's busy schedule.

‘I’ve just started my draft work for this season,’ explains First Artist Nathalie Harrison, ‘This year is tricky as our schedule is packed, but we snatch rehearsals in lunch breaks and often rehearse late into our free nights. We surprise ourselves by what can be squeezed in!’

‘At the moment, I'm just playing with short sketches and doodles. It takes a moment to switch from corps de ballet conformity to creativity, but it's liberating to be given the scope to make something. I'm really enjoying the accidental accomplishments that happen when you play with movement.’

‘I got the inspiration for my own piece when observing crowds in the National Gallery,’ continues Nathalie. ‘I want to explore people’s internalization when observing or reflecting on art. My piece is a short glance at both human interaction and lack of interaction, exploring concentration and contemplation.’

‘The ideas in your head never appear immediately in the studio. It requires patience, but I'm quite impatient and so it is an excellent exercise for me. It also makes me realize the pure talent and professionalism of my colleagues.’

This year, Draft Works will feature work by Royal Ballet Affiliate Choreographers Alexander Whitley and Mayuri Boonham, Royal Ballet Choreographic Apprentice Robert Binet and Associate Artist Sarah Dowling as well as Royal Ballet Soloists Kenta Kura, Kristen McNally and Valentino Zucchetti, and First Artists Nathalie Harrison and Ludovic Ondiviela.

‘I'm also dancing in Ludovic Ondievela's piece,’ adds Nathalie. ‘I love Ludo's work: he is an incredibly efficient choreographer with a very clear vision of his piece.’

[This article was corrected on 29/04/13 to change the year referred to from 2014 to 2013]

The Draft Works series runs from 23 - 26 April 2013. View details of booking dates.